Michelle Hanks

K2tog: The hand-knitted gift and its status and value in the twenty-first century

London College of Fashion

My research will investigate and analyse the relevance and value of the hand-knitted gift in contemporary culture.

Hand-knitting is portable, low-tech and popular for creating gifts, but its status is ambivalent in our consumerist and increasingly virtual society.

Drawing on my experience as a knitter with an IT background my research will study why and how these domestic, non-commercial hand-knitted objects have a significance and meaning, often overlooked in today’s culture, utilising the gift object as an exemplar to focus on inter-personal relationships.